Roughly 10,600 people have been arrested by a multiagency task force in Memphis since it was established by President Donald Trump in September.
The milestone comes as federal, state, and local law enforcement officials credit the Memphis Safe Task Force with reducing violent crime while rescuing missing children and taking illegal firearms off the streets.
The task force last week rescued a missing 14-year-old girl from a drug-filled Memphis motel in what police are investigating as a child trafficking case, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
The man found with the girl was arrested during the operation, highlighting what officials say is the broad scope of the initiative beyond traditional crime fighting.
Gadyaces Serralta, executive director of the U.S. Marshals Service and the official overseeing the operation, told the Examiner officers are continuing to recover missing juveniles nearly every day.
"As recent as last night, we're still recovering juveniles," Serralta said Tuesday.
The task force, established under a Sept. 15 presidential memorandum signed by Trump, brings together the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, the Department of Homeland Security, Tennessee law enforcement agencies, the Memphis Police Department, and the Tennessee National Guard to target violent crime, gang activity, firearms offenses, drug trafficking, and missing children.
A June 10 U.S. Marshals Service update said the operation had surpassed 10,000 arrests and resulted in the seizure of 1,708 illegal firearms.
The agency said officers had arrested suspects on homicide, firearms, narcotics, and sex offense charges, while locating 154 missing children since the initiative began.
Serralta told the Examiner the strategy focuses on proactive policing, from responding to violent crimes in progress to enforcing traffic laws that had often gone unenforced before the task force launched.
Officials report the effort has coincided with a 43% decline in homicides, a 50% reduction in robberies, a 33% drop in sexual assaults, and a 32% decrease in aggravated assaults compared with the period before the operation began.
Federal prosecutors have also sharply increased indictments stemming from task force investigations.
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee called the partnership a "generational opportunity" to improve public safety and praised the Trump administration's leadership in coordinating federal, state, and local resources.
The operation has not been without controversy.
On Sunday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents opened an inquiry after two Tennessee National Guard soldiers assigned to the task force fatally shot 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson during a foot pursuit after authorities said Johnson was armed with a handgun.
No officers were injured, and the TBI said it is independently investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, WBIR reported.
Serralta said the Memphis model could be expanded to additional cities if local leaders seek federal assistance, noting Trump has expressed interest in replicating the initiative elsewhere.